Dean Phillips of Krypton Comics in Omaha, Nebraska experienced a great Free Comic Book Day and sent in this report.
What a great day! We had a steady line of people the entire day. Numbers were about the same as last year, but boy did it run smoother. The whole idea behind Free Comic Book Day for me is to expand the market and create new readers. Just throwing the books on a table and a poster in the widow is not enough. I feel you need to provide a reason for people to want to come to your store.
As with previous years, we brought in a special guest for the day. This year was the fantastic Ray Park! Those familiar with Mr. Park know him from movies like: G.I. Joe, Star Wars Episode I, X-Men and Sleepy Hollow. Mr. Park earned his reputation as a "fan favorite" by taking time with each fan, making them feel special. We had a great assortment of costumed characters this year including Zatanna, Psylocke, Joker, Snake Eyes and a fantastic War Machine. The 501st Central Garrison showed up in force. They presented Mr. Park with an honorary membership in the Central Garrison. The 501st went on to present our other very special guest Cynthia Martin (Star Wars artist) with here own honorary membership! Our local artists drew trading cards and full sketches for the crowd of people. There was a Knight Rider car with its front light just blinking away. We had a local Physics professor giving speeches on the physics of superheroes. Not only are we going to give you some great comics, we might teach you a thing or two!
Lessons we learned from previous years (many from customer feedback) helped us rearrange the store to help with the flow of traffic. Things went smooth as silk and fun was had by all. That's what Free Comic Book Day is all about for us.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
'What a Great Day!'
Posted by ICv2 on May 5, 2010 @ 11:01 pm CT